| Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while. |
| — Ponyboy in page 4 |
Greasers are an alignment of gangs of the poor and lower-middle class teens and young adults in mid-1965 Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although most of these gangs actually participate in organized crime, some do not, and more-or-less exist as a group of friends. They serve as the main protagonists of The Outsiders.
History
Greasers could have possibly existed before 1965, not as "greasers" but as childhood friends, before moving on to becoming greaser gangs.
Description
Greasers wear leather or denim jackets, blue jeans and t-shirts or leave their shirttails out, with long greased back hair, wear tennis shoes or boots, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and even carry knives and guns.
Common Hangouts
They could commonly be found around drive-ins like The Dingo and Jay's.
Notable Greasers
The seven main greasers of "The Outsiders" are the members of the Curtis Gang (the gang is not named in the book but could possibly identified based off of their general stays at the Curtis household). While this gang is technically not a gang, since only one member regularly commits crimes, most people would've identified the group as a gang.
- Darrel "Darry" Curtis - the eldest Curtis brother, serves as the head of the gang and as a guardian to his younger brothers after their parents' deaths.
- Sodapop Curtis - the middle Curtis brother, a high school dropout, who's more of a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.
- Ponyboy Curtis - the youngest Curtis brother, is the main protagonist and narrator of the story, and the youngest gang member.
- Johnny Cade - the smallest and most fragile gang member, who's considered the gang's "pet." (Deceased)
- Dallas "Dally" Winston - "character" of the gang, who hates the world, and has a police record a mile long. (Deceased)
- Keith "Two-Bit Mathews - "wisecracker" of the gang.
- Steve Randle - Sodapop's best friend, who's fond of cars.
Other Greasers
- Tim Shepard - Leader of the Shepard gang, a good friend of Dally's and the brother of Curly and Angela Shepard.
- Curly Shepard - brother of Tim and Angela Shepard.
- Angela Shepard - sister of Tim and Curly Shepard.
- Sandy - Sodapop's ex-girlfriend, who cheated on him, and moved to Florida.
- Evie - Steve Randle's girlfriend.
- Sylvia - Dallas' ex-girlfriend, who cheated on him while he was in jail.
- Kathy - Two-Bit's girlfriend.
- Buck Merrill - a good friend of Dally's and his rodeo partner.
- Belinda Jenkins - she was shown in the TV show of The Outsiders. She was Ponyboy's friend after Johnny and Dallas's deaths, and has a crush on Ponyboy.
Gangs
- Shepard's Gang - a gang run by Tim Shepard and includes his brother Curly.
- The Brumly Boys - a group of greasers from the Brumly suburb, hence the name.
- The River Kings - one of the few street gangs in the south side.
- The Curtis Gang - the main "gang" in the story, doesn't really commit crimes frequently except for Dallas.
- Tiber Street Tigers - a gang mentioned by Ponyboy.
Gallery
